The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the hot weather is finally here — summer is in full swing. It seems that everywhere you look, glowing faces and lush gardens greet your gaze. A laid-back attitude seems to be permeating these days. As we have settled in after the long weekend, the real estate stats were released for the month of June, and its all good news! The average sale price for a home in the City of Toronto is $915,481, up 5% from a year ago and the number of sales recorded for the entire GTA was up 10%. Home sales and prices have perked up from a depressed 2018. Buyers started moving off the sidelines in the spring, and because we saw virtually no change in the number of new listings, market conditions tightened and price growth picked up, especially for more higher density home types like condos.

It’s easy to see the freehold sector shifting into summer mode. Listings were up slightly last week by 9% over the previous week, but sales were dramatically down with 52% fewer sales last week in all areas of the city. If we go back exactly a year ago and check the stats, they are almost identical to now. Homes selling at or above the list price has dropped to 38%. We believe the buyers are still active in the marketplace but are taking a bit more time to make their decision.

The condo market buyers and sellers expressed a similar sentiment. The last thing anyone wants to do is hang around the city when all their friends are at the cottage. That explains the 46% decline in sales last week although listings increased by 14%. The percentage of suites still selling at or above the list price has dropped slightly down to 33%. Summer market statistics are often not the best indicators of housing market conditions.